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Overview

Welcome back to Threadville, Pennsylvania, where crafts are king, and a “killer” sewing machine lives up to its name…

Darlene Coddlefield, the winner of a national sewing competition, has come to Willow Vanderling’s embroidery shop, In Stitches, to be presented with a top-of-the-line Chandler Champion sewing and embroidery machine as her prize. But Darlene’s triumph is short-lived after she’s found dead under her sewing table, apparently crushed by the heavy machine.

It soon becomes clear that this was no freak accident. Who had it in for Darlene Coddlefield? The long string of suspects includes Darlene’s fire chief husband. So Willow and her best friend, Haylee, become volunteer firefighters to uncover the truth. But when a second sewing machine sparks trouble, the friends realize they may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire…

About the Author

Janet Bolin has had multiple short stories and humorous essays published in Canadian literary and trade journals. More than forty of her essays have been read aloud on national CBC radio programs. She is a member of Sisters in Crime. Her Threadville Mysteries include Night of the Living Thread, Dire Threads, Threaded for Trouble, and Thread and Buried.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Sew good! Janet Bolin's return to Threadville a Craftily-spun Who-dunnit!
I enjoyed reading Dire Threads, the first book in the Threadville series, and so I was torn between anticipation and some apprehension lest the second book not be as good as the first. I need not have worried, however. Threaded for Trouble is every bit as good as Dire Threads, if not better. It's not necessary for readers to have read the first book to enjoy this one, but I'm betting that anyone who has read either book will want to read both books. Not only that, but with Robin Moline's beautiful artwork gracing the covers of these books, I can truly say that in this case, we CAN judge a book by its cover. Readers of the first book will appreciate the detail Moline put into this cover, with Willow's dogs, Sally Forth and Tally Ho, gazing out from her shop, In Stitches, across towards Opal's cat, Lucy.
Threaded for Trouble begins with the protagonist, Willow Vanderling, preparing to award a contestant with a Chandler Champion sewing machine. Things don't start well for Willow, with the company's rep, Felicity. banishing the dogs from their usual spot in the store, and then finding that she, Willow, has to make a speech as well. The plot begins to thicken when the winner of the contest, Darlene Coddlefield, is found dead within hours, crushed by the sewing machine. It becomes clear that there may have been malicious tampering with the machine and the table it was on, so there are obvious members of the victim's household included in the list of suspects. Haylee, Willow's friend, also suspects that her three &quot;mothers&quot; are going to try to take some of the victim's eight children under their wings, and she wants Willow to help her prevent that. Willow and Edna make a trip to the Coddlefield home to deliver lasagna and cookies, and upon sneakily worming their way in, discover the widower in a clinch with the children's nanny, while upstairs, children can be heard screaming and crying. Since the widower is the Fire Chief of Elderberry Bay, Willow decides to join the volunteer Fire Brigade, and persuades Haylee to join her. There are some amusing pages devoted to the training both young women have to undergo, and there's enough detail in the training requirements for the reader to appreciate the contribution made by Firefighters to their community.
Meanwhile, Willow has been aiding Smallwood and Gartener, the agents of the law in Threadville, to understand how the Chandler Champion was supposed to function, so that they can understand the level of tampering necessary to make the machine malfunction. The story begins to speed up when there's a fire at the Coddlefield home, in which Willow not only rescues the &quot;nasty lady&quot; Felicity, but finds that the replacement machine had caught on fire. Willow fears that she may have sent not one, but two killer sewing machines to the Coddlefields'. The story quickly spirals from there to the ending chapters after that, with each chapter filled with page-turning revelations. Red Herrings abound throughout the book, so that Willow's discovery of the killer's identity is quite in the tradition of Agatha Christie. However, there's no drawing room speech, but a physical fight between Willow and the evildoer. Shortly thereafter, the agents of the law arrive, and the mystery is brought to a satisfying conclusion. The book ends on a romantic, even &quot;Operatic&quot; note, as Clay shows his affection for Willow while preparing to accompany her to the emergency room. Readers of romantic suspense will enjoy the book for the growing attraction between Clay and Willow, while traditional mystery enthusiasts will enjoy the book for its page-turning build of suspense., The book also shows Bolin can deftly add comedic touches to her mystery stories. I thought the &quot;Three Witches&quot; scene with the three older female mentors in Dire Threads quite amusing, and readers who appreciate a touch of comedy in their mystery will no doubt get a kick out of the carnival scene where the same ladies are in hilarious costume &quot;disguises&quot;. The descriptions of Smallwood and Gartener in 'plainclothes&quot; at the carnival are amusing as well. Also, though I'm not a seamstress myself, any person who is, will be able to enjoy the tidbits of Willow's sewing expertise, including the Fire Stitch. Highly Recommended.

Dollycas

More than 1 year ago

Threadville Pennsylvania is a street of craft shops the feature everything from Quilting to Yarn Crafts. Willow Vanderling owns In Stitches, the embroidery shop. Today is a special day at In Stitches as Darlene Coddlefield will be presented with her new top of the line sewing machine. She has won a national competition sponsored by The Chandler Company. The company representative has arrived to award the prize and she is driving Willow crazy with her demands.
Poor Darlene never gets to do more with her new machine but test it out for a few minutes. She is found dead under her sewing table that looks to have collapsed from the weight of the extremely heavy machine. It soon becomes apparent that this way no accident and the suspects are many including Darlene's fire chief husband, &quot;Plug&quot; . Willow and her best friend Haylee even become volunteer firefighters to see if they can uncover the true culprit. Hopefully they can do it without getting burned.
I was excited for another trip to Threadville. It is a place I would love to live.
The characters are so well defined, they are already a group of literary friends. The high-jinks of &quot;The Three Weird Mothers&quot;, Opal, Naomi and Edna actually has me &quot;in stitches&quot;. I was laughing so hard I was crying.
As a formerly addicted crafter who had been knitting, quilting and sewing since I was 8 years old until my accident in 2001, I can identify with each and every shop owner in Threadville and this story has given me a new respect for my sewing machine. My father was also the fire chief of our small town so the firefighters in this story made me smile even the cantankerous one. With the drought this year we can all understand the fire outbreaks and the sirens at all hours usually at night.
Filled with all the elements a perfect cozy and a perfect escape!
I loved the first book in this series and this one is even better. Kudos to the author! Do we really have to wait until June for the next installment?

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Excelent book that is hard to put down. Willow and her friends are funny and creative.

NoraAdrienne

More than 1 year ago

Janet Bolin is getting better with each book. Threaded for Trouble is the second book in her new series and it hits new heights of intrigue, murder and craziness. With the help of her friends and the Three Moms, she manages to accrue a high score in finding clues and putting this puzzle to rest.
I truly believe that in a short time this series and its author will be on the pages of the NY Times Book Review.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my copy of this book as a gift from a friend.

DAinNY1

More than 1 year ago

This was a good read that flowed so evenly as this became a late night read-athon that I could not put down. The mystery kept me guessing as the author did a great job of teasing me down one path and then bam. I enjoyed my time with Willow, Hayley and the three mothers. The ending left great possibilities and I can't wait for the next book in this delightful series.

judiOH

More than 1 year ago

the second book ini this series is better than the first and the first was pretty amazing too. willow chairs a national sewing competition, winner to receive a chandler champion sewing machine. the winner receives and is murdered. there is no lack of suspects, including her husband plug, the local fire chief. after he is caught in a clinch with their au pair after the death of his wife, he moves to # 1 on the list. this story has enough twists and turns that the ending does come as a surprise. the culprit appears early in the story, but does not garner attention. as you read, you feel as though you are a part of the story, characters are very real. murder, mayhem, and a little romance, (glad clay and willow are getting close again), make this a must read. can't wait for book three!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Great book! I have really enjoyed the series and hope there will be lots more to come.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I'm sorry, this book is too unrealistic. It drug on through boring details and there were unplausible scenarios. The sewing machine incidents were ridiculous. There is no credibility to these events happening in these manners. People do not behave the way this story portrayed.

LenaSP

More than 1 year ago

Good read

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I liked this second book i the Threadville series. I liked the first book better, but this one was interesting and it kept me guessing. If you like cozy mysteries you should check it out.

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